The present invention is generally concerned with the field of electronic article surveillance (EAS), and more specifically relates to a semi-automatic machine for affixing an anti-theft device (i.e., an EAS marker) to an article of merchandise, and particularly an article formed of fabric, offered for sale in a self-service store or stocked in a warehouse.
A known method of combating theft is to affix anti-theft devices to articles of merchandise and to equip retail stores and/or warehouses with systems for detecting these anti-theft devices. Thus, if a customer who has picked up an article from the shelf of a self-service store, for example, intentionally or accidentally fails to present the article at the cash register before leaving the store, the anti-theft device affixed to that article will automatically trip an alarm as the customer passes through a detection system situated at the exit from the store.
When the articles to be protected are made of fabric, in particular in the case of garments, the anti-theft device used generally comprises two elements that are assembled together by snap connection through the fabric. The assembly is designed such that the customer himself or herself cannot separate the two elements of the anti-theft device. On presentation at the cash register, the cashier neutralizes the anti-theft device by removing it from the garment with appropriate tools.
The two elements of an anti-theft device generally comprise a rigid label which includes a recessed hole and a pin formed of a head and a thin, pointed member. The operation of assembling the label and pin is typically performed manually by an operator. To do so, the operator must hold a label, a pin and the fabric at the same time, then pierce the fabric with the point of the pin to engage it in the hole of the label, such assembly being performed at a roughly defined place on the fabric that does not have any particular reference mark.